


Bottoms up

by Cloudyjongho



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Acting major Park Seonghwa, Alternate Universe - College/University, Blow Jobs, Bottom Choi Jongho, College, Dom Park Seonghwa, Drinking, Fluff, M/M, Music major Choi Jongho, Partying, Popular Park Seonghwa, Senior Park Seonghwa, Sex Toys, Smut, Sophomore Choi Jongho, Student Choi Jongho, Student Park Seonghwa, Sub Choi Jongho, Top Park Seonghwa, Y’all see what the smut is like so I won’t tag more
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-16 21:36:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29582475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cloudyjongho/pseuds/Cloudyjongho
Summary: Jongho had had an entire summer break to make himself sane again. To forget the hot senior.Now, as a sophomore in college, Jongho knew how the school worked. He wasn't as lost as he had been during the first day of his first year, and he thought he had everything handled.But no. That wasn't even close the case.Even after thinking differently during the summer break, he still had a crush on Seonghwa. And even after the summer break, Seonghwa was still the same popular frat boy he was the year before.And Jongho was still the same quiet and grumpy music major he had always been, unable to even think of doing anything more than sneaking quick glances at Seonghwa.
Relationships: Choi Jongho/Park Seonghwa
Comments: 51
Kudos: 79





	1. Leather jacket and cigarettes

**Author's Note:**

> [Pics of the boys](https://twitter.com/cloudyjjongie/status/1356351725200945154?s=21)

Jongho was mentally prepared for this. He stood in front of the school, backpack heavy, but mind ready.

Jongho had had a great summer break — he had visited home, gone to Monsta X's concert and just generally had a great time. He had finally felt stress-free, no school, no pressure, no nothing. Just he and a bit over two months of freedom when he could do anything he wanted. He had thrived. Long gone had been the anxiety of succeeding in every subject he took. 

Jongho had gotten some muscle over the break too. He wasn't that scrawny beanpole-like guy anymore, but had a nicely toned, strong body. Jongho had also cut and dyed his hair to a dark red, and oh lord did he feel confident. He felt better than he had ever done.

The memories of the summer break stayed fresh in his mind. He remembered how he had slept the entire first week, but after that gone home to his family. He also remembered screaming his head off and waving his Monsta X lightstick around like crazy. He had had an eye-contact with Jooheon, which still caused Jongho's heart to go leap.

But maybe the most important thing that happened over the break was of course the fact that he, Choi Jongho, had gotten over his crush.

Jongho was the grumpy, silent kid in the school. He didn't have any friends — or he did, but he never cared enough to be with them. He was better off alone. He didn't need friends, they just disappointed him. 

No one probably knew him. He was like the shadow of the other students, always around, but never noticed. He didn't want to be noticed. Jongho felt complete with just listening to music and studying on his own. 

He had been a freshman last year. It had been awful, not just because of the load of homework, but just because he was a freshman.

Freshmen got picked on every other day — they were the small little babies, after all. And the quiet, shy ones had it worse. Luckily Jongho was so good at blending into the walls that he didn't really experience that much of that bullying, but just seeing someone's head being pushed to the toilet was enough. Jongho was quick on his feet, and somehow managed to escape situations where his head was the next victim.

Now he was a sophomore. And damn did it feel great.

No longer was Jongho this embarrassing freshman, or fresh meat, like the juniors liked to call them. He was bigger, better. But that didn't stop the juniors or especially the seniors from teasing them. 

Jongho had been absolutely lost on his first day, but now he was confident that he would find the classroom without even looking. He knew his way around the school. 

He preferred to stay low and live his life without causing too much attention on him. The freshmen who had made themselves seen so they could get into the frats they wanted, they, they were the ones getting the most showers in the bathroom stalls.

The frat life, the partying was the centrum of everything. People made their own frats and groups, and freshmen begged and prayed to get in. Being in a frat was everything. To some students. It meant that you were cool — you had cool friends, the seniors accepted you. You had great parties and even greater alcohol. Maybe you could even get a kiss from the most popular seniors of the school. And that, that right there, made you valuable, which was dumb.

Jongho wasn't part of any frat. He had never even wanted to get into one, because it would just give him attention. He really wanted to keep his hair and head pretty and unsmelly. Of course he visited some parties — how could he not? He was in college, for fuck's sake. 

Jongho might be a quiet, shy boy that was very good at his majors and basically every subject, but he wasn't a boring suck-up. His vocabulary was quite full of pg-19 rated words and he had strong opinions. He wasn't thrown around easily. 

Jongho also definitely knew how to party, he knew how to drink and enjoy the nights. He danced and played drinking games, sometimes vomited before drinking more but always minded his own shadow. He needed to blend in, after all. He visited the parties that were available to everyone, not just for the frat's students or to those with invites.

With his newly found confidence, Jongho had gotten over his crush. He would no more need to feel his heart race and face flush up with a blush whenever he saw a certain someone. He could continue his life normally, just blending in silently, making sure he aced all exams and tests so he could graduate with good grades. He majored in music and physics — a weird combo, but Jongho enjoyed them both.

Last year, the person that got Jongho's heart racing had made everything a bit difficult. His whole being had distracted Jongho way too much, and now, he needed to focus. Full on.

Because sneaking quick glances at his crush all the time when he should've been studying quantum physics definitely affected god knows everything. So now, Jongho had made sure to kill his embarrassingly strong feelings.

But who could blame him? Park Seonghwa was perfect in every single way. He was handsome, fit, taller than Jongho by a few inches, that was important, and absolutely beautiful, smart, funny, and he knew how to sweet-talk. So having a crush on him was very normal.

But Jongho, Jongho didn't have a chance. He would never have. Seonghwa had thousands of admirers, both on instagram and inside the school. Everyone liked him, everyone loved him, even if he was the notorious bad boy. Not the cliché type. Okay, maybe a bit. But not much. Just a little. 

Seonghwa did wear leather jackets and he did play with girls and guys like a child who had way too many toys. He drank alcohol and smoked cigarettes. And played football. 

When Jongho first met Seonghwa, he had been a freshman just wanting to pee. He had walked into a bathroom — luckily with a mask and the hood of his hoodie deep in his head because he had a cough, so no one recognized him — when a scene had opened to him.

Seonghwa and his cute little gang, Hongjoong, Yunho, Yeosang, San, Mingi and Wooyoung, had been in the middle of giving a freshman a nice swim. The five last ones were only a year older than Jongho, so they had been sophomores, but seemed like they had proved themselves to be worthy of being with Seonghwa. Hongjoong was Seonghwa's loyal friend, who seemed to be a bit calmer than the man itself.

Jongho had stopped right there at the door, frozen. The seven of them had been laughing while the sole of Seonghwa's shoe had forced the freshman's head to the toilet. San had pressed the button repeatedly, making the toilet flush all the time. The freshman had begged for mercy, but Seonghwa's brutal feet had continued pushing his head down while they all laughed.

It was twisted, and Jongho should've been disgusted. But when Seonghwa had turned to look at the door where Jongho stood, Jongho's entire world had stopped.

He wasn't kidding.

His heart had stopped for a second before it had started racing against his ribgace like a wild horse. His cheeks had taken the rosy shade immediately, and his jaw, luckily hidden inside the mask, had dropped.

With wide eyes Jongho had stared back at Seonghwa, whose face had died slightly down from the laughing. His dark eyes that seemed to know everything had gone through Jongho's skin, flesh and bones immediately, as if he had scanned Jongho. His eyes had raked Jongho's body up and down, probably wondering what has hidden under the big hoodie.

That was the moment when Jongho had fallen for him. And now he was just fucked.

Their romantic stare-down had turned into something that still horrified Jongho until this day — Seonghwa had let the freshman pull his head up, and smirked, telling Mingi to grab Jongho, because apparently, he was the next one on the row.

On that moment, Jongho had bolted. It was the first time he had ran away from seniors or juniors who wanted to humiliate him — and oh boy had he ran fast.

He had been faster than Mingi whose long arms had tried to catch Jongho, he had been faster than San who had jumped up and started chasing him.

He had been so fast, that he had saved his own sorry ass from probably the most humiliating experience of his life.

He had changed his hoodie after that and thrown away the mask just to confuse the juniors and sophomores, and thank god it had worked.

Jongho still thought of his first moment with Seonghwa almost on daily basis. Or he used to do so. But during the summer, he decided that it was enough.

A year was more than enough time to pine after someone who didn't even know about him. He needed to get his life together, because what would take him farer with his life? Good grades or a crush? Good grades, certainly. There was no doubt of that. 

So after he saw Seonghwa for the last time at the semester's ending party, Jongho gave it up.

He had stared at Seonghwa for a few minutes before making his way out of the party, through the dark yard to his dormitory before sleeping away the alcohol in his veins. 

No more would he be a helpless student in love. No more would he pine after Seonghwa. No more.

Because Seonghwa would never know of Jongho. He would never have Seonghwa's attention in him, he would never feel those lips against his. He would never share warmth with him. It was very motivating, because every time he had seen Seonghwa kiss, hold, hug or touch someone else, it had been like a stab to his heart. Jongho had had enough of that pain.

He hadn't seen Seonghwa even once during the summer — Jongho had even unfollowed him on instagram so he wouldn't see anything about him. The very few secretly taken screenshots of Seonghwa's instagram pictures or stories were deleted too, just so anything wouldn't remind Jongho of him.

The first few weeks had been hard, but in the span of two and a half months, Jongho had succesfully forgotten about him. 

And now, Jongho had finally broken the spell; he was finally free of the curse his own heart had created.

Jongho inhaled deeply and walked to the doors, the familiar sound of laughing and chatting students filling his ears. He felt oddly homely while hearing that. 

The doors weren't heavy like they had been exactly a year ago. Now Jongho opened them easily, even confidently. He was a sophomore now. He wouldn't need to fear getting bullied today like the new students around him did.

He walked with relaxed steps, music blasting in his airpods. Jongho was in a good mood. He couldn't wait until his singing lessons started again, he had truly missed that all. He missed being in a crowd of people like this, because here he could blend into the huge mass of humans. He could watch everyone else, but he didn't need to be watched. Jongho enjoyed that.

Instead of laying in his bed for an entire day like he had done for the last weeks, trapping himself in his own stupid mind, here he had stuff to do, thoughts to think about. If not about something going around him, maybe about physics. Or a belted high note. 

Jongho found his locker faster than ever, and he pushed everything unneeded there. He filled the emergency snack storage there with candies, small bags of chips and some cans of soda. And bananas, just to be healthy. He never knew what he truly needed, so it was good to have everything. Besides, Jongho loved to eat, so. Yeah.

His first class was physics — what a way to start the semester. Well, he had missed Mrs Ahn, his favorite teacher, so it was okay. Physics was one of his majors anyway. Beside music.

Jongho was a bit early, but he wanted to get there quickly so he could exchange a word or two with his teacher, so he closed the locker and pushed the airpod better inside his ear. He skipped songs until something good came on, and with a roll of his shoulders and a quick glance at the mirror on his locker-mate's door, he continued towards the classroom.

Nobody paid attention to him, just like it was supposed to be. He walked with a good feeling, he was happy, he was excited. This year was going to be so much better for him. This year was going to be the best year of his life.

Jongho turned to left and eyed the very familiar posters, classrooms and walls. The doors creaked just like they had done, the school looked just like it had done. The same persons were hanging out in the same spots they had always done.

When Jongho got closer to the spot where Seonghwa and his gang hung out at, he grew restless. But with a quick reminder that yes, he had indeed gotten over the crush, relief washed over Jongho. He wouldn't need to even glance there, because this year, this year would be without Seonghwa in it. 

The world still revolved, even if Seonghwa didn't fuck with Jongho's brains. 

Jongho walked, kept his chin high and focused on the music when he got to the hardest part of the entire school.

He knew he needed to continue straight, without looking. Without even glancing. He knew that was exactly what he was supposed to do.

But something, like an invisible force, twisted Jongho's head and forced him to look.

It forced him to look at Seonghwa's perfect face and the hair that now looked like the mixture of brown and grey, like a light shade of brown. It forced him to see how Seonghwa's black tie hung loose on top of the white button-up shirt that had at least three of the top buttons open. Jongho just had to see the thighs, the muscles, that seemed to penetrate through the thick black pants. It forced Jongho to do it all. 

Jongho saw the smirk, he saw the dangerously twinkling eyes, and most importantly, he felt the aura. He felt the aura Seonghwa emitted, the flirty, sexy aura, that just drew you in. The aura that made you want to be under him, touch him, get touched by him.

And that was when Jongho realised that fuck, he hadn't gotten over the crush at all.

He was still the same person, his heart was still the same heart. And he was still in love with the fuckboy of the school that made out with everyone else but Jongho.


	2. One shot two shots

The first day had gone past slowly like a snail. Jongho's day had been ruined the moment he had realized that nope, he still liked Seonghwa. Even if the same exact moment had been the best part of his day.

Mrs Ahn had missed him and welcomed Jongho back with a tight, motherly hug. Jongho was still her favorite.

Now Jongho's second day as a sophomore was half way through. He sat at a table in the cafeteria, far away from the others, munching a sandwich in peace. He listened to ballads while eating the layered bread that had saved him.

Jongho's stomach had been making noise during the lesson like it was his last day alive. He had pretty much sounded like a whale's mating invitation. And then the sounds had disappeared, the pain taking over. Jongho hated the feeling of hunger. Humans were born to eat and sleep, after all.

The milk he had in a small carton tasted a bit warm — but it was good enough to push down the dry sandwich with. He saw students with bento boxes and homemade lunches, and couldn't help but roll his eyes in jealousy. Maybe his mother would've done one to him too, if only he hadn't moved away. Jongho himself didn't have enough time in the mornings, or evenings, to cook and make lunches ready, so he just always buys food from canteen. It's easier, and the price isn't too high with his student ID.

The cafeteria was loud and busy, bustling with humans like ants. Everyone was eating and laughing, enjoying the free time and hanging out with their friends. Jongho's table was fortunately still empty. He didn't want anyone to sit next to him, because it would just make everything very, very awkward. Jongho wasn't the best person at making up conversations, he was more of a follower of it. He usually just hummed and let the other person lead the situation. It was easier. His mom always nagged about it to him, because apparently Jongho was too unsocial and grumpy. He would need to step up his talking game if he ever wanted to have a boyfriend. His mom's words, not his. And she had also nagged about Jongho's so-called resting bitch-face. Apparently, again, it made everyone shy away from him. His mom wanted Jongho to walk around with a wide smile so his gummies got some fresh air.

It was safe to say Jongho had felt attacked after hearing that.

It wasn't that Jongho didn't like smiling or laughing, not at all. No one was just funny enough to make him smile or laugh during the day, because he only spoke to teachers or other students when forced to. Only Mrs Ahn and his music teacher Mr Moon could make Jongho smile. Because they were kind, so of course Jongho was kind back. But the others were just unfunny assholes that made insensitive jokes about women.

Well, of course Seonghwa could make Jongho smile. Just looking at him made Jongho's lips twitch up, just seeing him happy made Jongho happy. It was like that. But it was sad that Seonghwa's eyes were never on Jongho. Well, it was his own fault anyways.

For making himself invisible like that.

Jongho didn't mind being single. Of course he craved for that kind of attention, warmth and feeling of love and safety that only a partner could give, but he wasn't in a hurry with that. The problem was that Park god damn Seonghwa had raised his standards so high that Jongho was pretty sure he was going to die alone if Jesus himself didn't come back to earth to clarify a miracle.

It wasn't like he was picky with who he looked at, but that was exactly the reason.

Why have someone worse when he could have the perfection himself?

Well, Jongho was the sore loser of the school while Seonghwa was the absolute prince charming. With a twist. A twist of cigarettes, alcohol, leather jackets and one night stands.

Jongho let his eyes wander to Seonghwa again. He sat at his table with his friends and some girls too. They shared a pizza — that meant some of them had left the school to get it — and Seonghwa laughed at something so hard that he threw his head back.

Jongho felt himself swallowing once, eyes trailing over the muscular chest, smooth skin and collarbones that peeked from the three opened buttons when Seonghwa did something like that. A necklace hung around his neck again. It was the golden cross Seonghwa always wore. Maybe it was some kind of symbol to him, something that brought him the feeling of safety.

Well, it also made Seonghwa look even better,so Jongho didn't complain.

A girl leaned closer to Seonghwa and ran her hand up Seonghwa's torso, from his abdomen to his chest and finally to his neck, which made Seonghwa smirk and press his hand over the girl's. They stared at each other for a while, before Seonghwa leaned closer slowly, hungry eyes slipping down to the girl's lips. He ran a tongue over his own lower lip before grabbing the girl's chin and kissing her.

Jongho stopped chewing and stared for a while. He watched how Seonghwa's lips moved against her's, how his hands slid down to the girl's slim waist and how he, after a while, began kissing her neck.

That's when Jongho had to look away.

Of course it hurt him. Of course. His crush was so deep after a year that there was no way it wouldn't hurt him seeing his crush kiss someone else. But it was just something that he needed to get used to, because it would never be him. Never.

He swallowed down the bread he had chewed and dropped the rest of the sandwich back to the plate, not feeling like eating even a one more piece of it. It felt too dry for his mouth to chew. And the milk too warm. Besides, if he got hungry later, he still had his bananas at his locker. It would be okay, he could make it through the day. Maybe he would get take-out in the evening. Just to make himself feel better.

Jongho stood up, taking his backpack and tray and walking to give them back. The ballads had changed into Seo Taiji's songs, and the Anyhow Song thankfully got his attention, not the sight of a girl cuddled against Seonghwa. He would have a different girl tomorrow anyways.

Nothing was permanent, at least when it came to Park Seonghwa.

—

Jongho filled his solo cup with beer, and leaned against the kitchen table again, gulping down a few mouthfuls. The music played very, very loudly, loudly enough to probably damage Jongho's ears.

It was the first frat party of the year, and everyone was invited. Like they usually were. But Jongho had come too, simply because there was free alcohol, good music and Park Seonghwa.

If someone heard Jongho's thoughts, they would probably think he was obsessed with Seonghwa. He was just too deep with his crush. Nothing more, he wouldn't become a yandere bitch. That was too much. Jongho was just a very lovestruck person.

He actually enjoyed parties, even if he was usually shy and not very outgoing. He could relax here with the help of alcohol, music and just. Generally everything.

He ran out of beer pretty soon, so he refilled the red cup right away and walked to the bigger space where people were dancing. He just walked around, sipping on his beer. Jongho had a quite good alcohol tolerance, but the shots of vodka he had chugged down right after entering the party seemed to work their magic on him.

The dorm was lit up with different LED- and discolights, making the space look like a real club or bar. Jongho sincerely hoped no one had epilepsy, because if something triggered an attack, it was those lights. They were wild enough to hurt Jongho's eyes.

The music was something from the 90's. It was good music to dance to, and Jongho found himself humming with it every now and then. He felt relaxed. Maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe it was the good mood he was in.

Someone ran into the bathroom past him, making Jongho sway a little when pushed. He gulped down the rest of the beer, and was just about to go get more, when a boy came to him with two shot glasses.

"My friend's a pussy, so please take this with me."

Jongho had no idea who the boy was, but neither did he care. He accepted the shot and clinked it against the boy's, then chugging it down.

"Wow, that's... that's strong." Jongho said, grimacing. The liquid burned his throat painfully, and he felt how heat traveled down to his stomach.

The boy grinned wildly.

"I know. Want another one?"

And that's how Jongho's night went.

He threw shots down his throat with the boy he still didn't recognize. He had gotten way past the tipsy stage, now he was just plainly drunk.

When they ran out of shots the boy left and promised to come back with something much better, a glint in his eyes. That's when Jongho flew, not even wanting to see any drugs. He didn't want to do any, so getting rid of the boy had to be done now.

That's when it hit him — that just how naive had he been. The boy could've drugged Jongho, because he had accepted all the drinks he had brought, but luckily the boy hadn't done any of that.

When the boy disappeared around the corner Jongho stood up, immediately stumbling a bit. His head span. He was definitely wasted, and Jongho groaned on the inside. He would so have the worst hangover ever tomorrow.

He walked slowly and carefully to the crowd of people. Jongho let his eyes swipe over all of them, thinking of what to do next. That's when his eyes saw the familiar group of people.

Normally, Jongho would've turned around and walked away. Now, Jongho was drunk, and for some reason, he really wanted to introduce himself.

Jongho's heart beat so fast in his chest that he was sure it would jump out any moment. His eyes found Seonghwa, who was holding a red solo cup as well, taking sips of it while talking and laughing with his friends.

Jongho was sick and tired of not being able to get closer to Seonghwa. But that could change if he just walked over, and said hi. It was that easy. Just a simple walk and a simple 'hey' or something. Jongho could just continue past them like a cool kid.

A part of Jongho's brains was still sane, and screamed at him. Jongho shouldn't go there, he really shouldn't. He should just continue living his quiet life, just like he had done. Jongho would just embarrass himself if the walked over now. It was very clear.

But some part of him just pulled him there. He felt like he just needed to go. It was like an invisible force. Maybe, if he nailed his acting tonight, he could get closer to Seonghwa.

But was it worth throwing away the hard work of laying low he had done for a year?

If Jongho was sober, he would've said no.

But Jongho was drunk, and he said yes.

Jongho began walking there, steps slow and faltering. But it was okay. He could still keep himself up, and that was the most important thing. Maybe. Yeah.

Jongho's eyesight span, but it looked like Seonghwa was shining. A blush took over Jongho's cheeks just from the thought that fuck, he was actually doing this! He was doing it, and it was going so well. Except for the fact that he almost fell every three seconds.

Even with his trembling legs and swimming vision Jongho got closer, and Yeosang turned to look at him. Jongho already felt shy, and he didn't even have everyone's eyes on him. It started the alarms in Jongho's head.

He wanted to go back. This was a horrible idea.

Jongho decided that he was just going to walk past them without saying anything — it would be for the best, because there was no way he could turn back anymore. Now he felt even more eyes on him because he was so, so close, only a meter or two between them. It was the closest he had ever been to them.

That made Jongho panick. This wasn't good at all. He shouldn't have drunk at all. Now he was just utterly drunk and looking like a damn deer caught in headlights.

Just as he was about to pass Seonghwa, he lost his balance.

He lost his fucking balance. Just right in front of Seonghwa and his friends.

Jongho yelped and crashed to the floor, pain shooting up his ass for falling on it. Jongho would've hit his head if it wasn't for his still somehow quick reflexes to keep his damn head up.

Jongho bit his lip and sat up, too ashamed to look up. An even darker red took over his already rosy cheeks that had gotten color from the usage of alcohol.

He began hearing laughter around him, and honestly, Jongho just wanted to vanish through the floor. He was so embarrassed.

Jongho had known something like this would happen. Why did he do it then?

Jongho's legs wobbled so badly that when he tried to stand up, he didn't get all the way up but fell back to the floor. That made the situation even more humiliating.

Jongho wanted to die.

He tried to get up again, and this time managed to almost do so, but when he was just almost up, he began to lose his balance again. Thankfully someone grabbed his waist then, and helped Jongho up.

Jongho couldn't even look up. He kept on biting his lower lip and staring at the floor, trying to get himself together so he could get past them. He could still hear Wooyoung dying on his right side.

"Are you okay?" The person that had helped him up, and who still hadn't let go of Jongho's waist asked.

It took Jongho less than two second to recognize the voice, and when he did, his heart jumped to his throat, picking up its pace. Jongho's cheeks were probably near the color of his hair.

Seonghwa.

He smelled like cologne, cigarettes and leather put together — it was intoxicating, it was addicting and Jongho had to almost physically keep himself from inhaling more of it.

"Y-yeah. L-let me just- get going," Jongho muttered, voice high-pitched and small. He attempted walking away without even looking at anyone, but again, his legs couldn't take the stress, and he stumbled. A collective shout of _woah_ went through the group of friends before someone was quick to snatch him back, practically pulling Jongho against himself.

Jongho's breath hitched, because Park Seonghwa had just not done that. The chest pressed against his back was not Seonghwa's.

Lord, it was.

"Fuck." Jongho muttered, pressing a hand against his forehead.

He was doomed, he was fucked, he was dead.

Jongho was so embarrassed and ashamed that he kept his eyes on the floor tightly.

"There, there. Calm down." Seonghwa said with his low voice, letting Jongho free, and giving him some own space. Jongho was thankful for that.

"Not so good at taking alcohol?" He heard Yunho ask, and Jongho shook his head.

"No, I'm- I'm good, but I just. D-drank too much." Jongho stuttered, voice now quiet and low.

Seonghwa snorted, and that made Jongho look up.

His eyes met with Seonghwa's, and Jongho probably looked like an idiot with his red cheeks and wide eyes. Why, why had he done this?

"What's your name?" Wooyoung asked.

Jongho's heart dropped but quickened up at the same time. Why did Wooyoung want to know his name?

"J-Jongho." He answered, sparing Wooyoung a glance before flinging his eyes to the wall. God, he was so shy.

"Are you a freshman?" Wooyoung continued.

"No. A sophomore." Jongho answered, proud of himself for not stammering.

"How come I've never seen you before?" Wooyoung tilted his head to the side, and Jongho shrugged.

"I'm good at hiding, I guess."

Jongho stole a quick glance at Seonghwa in hopes to see him looking at him, but felt disappointment fill him. He was flirting with a girl again, completely tuned out of their conversation.

"Do you want water? I can get you one," Hongjoong asked, to which Jongho shook his head to.

"It's- It's okay. I'll just leave to my own dorm and sleep it away."

Mingi grinned.

"You'll have a fun day tomorrow."

Jongho grimaced at that. He definitely would.

"Oh god, why did I drink..." Jongho muttered, covering his face with his hands for a second before giving the boys a small smile.

"I'll just get going. Thanks for helping me up."

Wooyoung patted Jongho's shoulder, and Jongho turned around to walk away. He took slow and focused steps, feeling so humiliated, that nothing could save him anymore. Nothing.

He was quite proud of himself for getting as far as four to five steps before the room span in his eyes again, and he went down with a loud thud. He heard Wooyoung bursting into loud laughter again, and Jongho just rolled himself over to lay on his back. He stared at the ceiling of the room, and let a grin take over his face.

He gave up. There was no way he would get out of there, and he blamed that unknown boy for that.

"Don't mind me." Jongho said to the people dancing around him. "I'm very comfortable here."

With a sudden boost of confidence, he sent Hongjoong, who was laughing uncontrollably, a thumbs up. San wiped tears from his eyes, and somehow, Jongho felt like he had succeeded, even if he had failed miserably.

He had gotten to them, talked to them, told his name to them and repeatedly made them laugh. What was better than that? Except for the fact that his fucking crush had held him by his waist.

Talking of the said crush, Seonghwa was still busy whispering to the girl's ear, which did deflate Jongho's mood a little. Or quite a lot. But when Mingi walked to him and offered Jongho a hand, it all felt a little better again. At least he had fun despite being batshit drunk.

"Alright. Up you go. Are you sure you can get home?" Mingi asked while catching the water bottle Hongjoong threw. With one hand. Wow, maybe Jongho should've crushed on Mingi instead, because he did look very good.

Why had Jongho never realised that Mingi was this good-looking, tall and kind? Maybe he could crush on him. Wow, Mingi's lips looked soft. Jongho eyed them shamelessly before tearing his eyes off. He did not just think of that.

He gulped down half of the bottle in one go, and sighed in pleasure that the cold water sent when streaming down his throat to his stomach.

"Better?" Mingi asked.

"Much better. Thank you."

"Do you think you can get home? I can totally accompany you. Yeosang said he could too." Mingi continued.

"It's fine. Really. This is not the first time I've drunk myself to this bad condition." Jongho said and grinned. Wow, he should smile more. It felt nice to his gums. Maybe his mom had been right.

"Alright. Get home safely."

Jongho just smiled back and nodded, starting his slow and faltering steps carrying him forward. He leaned against everything available, like the big seniors or the walls, but after struggling for nearly thirty minutes, he finally won the fight and managed to walk the 200 meters to his own dorm.

He would have a horrible day tomorrow.

But unbeknownst to him, his rosy cheeks and twinkling eyes had burned on someone's retinas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Helloooooo and happy saturday!
> 
> Here’s chapter two! It was much more exciting than the first one hahah😂 I’m excited to let y’all see how the story’s going to continue😎😎 it’s fun!
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! See you next saturday!
> 
> [my twitter](https://twitter.com/cloudyjjongie?s=21) and [my curiouscat](https://curiouscat.qa/Cloudyjongho)


	3. A red ribbon around your neck

If there was something in the world Jongho loved, it was singing. 

Honestly, it was his entire life. Jongho had always sung, ever since he was a little boy. He knew he wanted to have a job around it, even if his other major was physics. Which didn't really have anything to do with music.

Jongho majored in music, and they always had these little projects. Maybe it was singing in a graduation party or gathering funds to WWF or some other donations. But now, they had a new challenge.

They were supposed to help the drama and theatre majors with their upcoming play. It was a big show, usually hundreds or even thousands came to watch the plays. The shows were very high quality and always made with care. The students practiced for them for months, day and night, with not breaks. A lot of them wanted to become actors or screenwriters, and honestly, Jongho applauded them for that. Acting was very difficult, no matter what kind of film they were doing.

Jongho's group, with their teacher Mr Moon, were the ones who were left with the responsibility for the music. They would meet the drama majors today, soon, and listen and discuss about what they wanted to have. Jongho was excited, because he knew he would get a small part. Mr Moon, or Taeil like he wanted to be called, had promised Jongho that. And that made him ecstatic. He hadn't taken a big part in the similar project that happened last year. 

Jongho had been a backround singer who had just harmonised with his groupmates. Honestly, he had been happy with that, but this year, he would maybe have a few lines to sing. And that made him extra happy.

Taeil led his group, who he liked to call 'My little duckies', to the theatre room. Jongho walked right beside Taeil. He really enjoyed being with the older man, he was funny, kind and just generally very sweet. And such a good teacher only at 30.

"Do you know what kind of play are they going to do?" Jongho asked, and Taeil brought his hand up to wrap it around Jongho's shoulder.

"I'm not sure yet. I did talk to Mr Kim about it, but Gongmyoung absolutely refused to reveal anything before this meeting."

Jongho nodded, and opened the door for Taeil, keeping it open so everyone could get inside. He was so excited that his heart was thumping in his chest uncontrollably.

"They're here! Say hi guys, we have our music majors here to help us!" Mr Kim's voice rang as Jongho finally got inside the classroom and bowed, just like everyone else.

The theatre students were sitting on the floor, and Taeil instructed them to sit down as well. Like they were middle schoolers. That almost made Jongho laugh, because Taeil really treated them like his little duckies. 

Just as Jongho looked up, he remembered a very important thing that somehow hadn't crossed his mind at all.

Park Seonghwa was one of the drama majors.

And that's when his eyes found Seonghwa, who was leaning against a wall while keeping his eyes on Gongmyoung and Taeil who were talking. And Jongho's heart burst. 

The saturday after the parties had been bad enough with the hammering headache and the urge to puke his guts out because of the toxic of the alcohol still in his veins. So why did the heavens punish him like this? 

He could never look at Seonghwa to his eyes, not after what he had done.

"Welcome, everyone. My name is Kim Gongmyoung, and I'm the person that teaches these shining stars who will take over the world one day." Mr Kim started, a big smile on his face as he leaned against the table behind him.

"And I'm Moon Taeil, and I teach my little duckies. We are always honored to work together with the theatre department. We'll be responsible for the music. I have brought my students with me. We have everything from drums to clarinet and Mariah Carey herself." 

Jongho and basically everyone snorted at that. Taeil had really made the otherwise tense atmosphere better with his jokes. Jongho kept his eyes on the teachers instead of glancing at Seonghwa. Because he still had that much of his pride left.

"This year we'll be mixing some horror into our modern version of Romeo and Juliet. The play has been completely modernized by our very own screenwriters that did very good job." Gongmyoung started.

"We've been discussing about the music, and the crew has decided the next following themes:" He continued, clicking something on the computer.

The list wasn't too long, and definitely something they could handle.

"The play has a black cat as one of the main characters, so Turbo's Black cat Nero is one of the main themes. We would also like to have some orchestral takes as backround music in exciting scenes like you know. For the kissing scene our students have decided to have Baek Yerin's Here I am again." Gongmyoung explained while giving everyone the screenplay scripts. 

Jongho eyed the paper, scrolling through the list of names. He wondered who took the main roles.

The paper felt rough under his fingertips, but he found the list. Choi San as the black cat, Park Seonghwa as the modernized Romeo. Park Jiyeon as the modernized Juliet. He should've guessed it. The most famous boy of the school and the bitchest girl of them all. Jiyeon was also the girl Jongho was constantly jealous of. Because she had Seonghwa's attention on her. Almost all the time. But now, Seonghwa was staring at Jongho. And he wasn't even trying to hide it. He was staring shamelessly, and it made Jongho want to squirm.

"Our music team has also made our choices. Choi Yuna will be the lead vocalist, and Choi Jongho will take the main vocalist's role." Taeil announced.

Jongho's heart stopped. He? He was the main vocalist? He was supposed to have a small side role!

Taeil winked at Jongho, whose eyes were blown wide as saucers. Red took over his cheeks as he felt people stare at him. He couldn't believe this.

"Great! I believe you have the school band and orchestra ready as well?" Gongmyoung asked.

"Yes, everything's done. Now we just need to start working.

One student eyed Jongho with a sceptical look.  
"We have always had a girl as the main vocalist, so why a guy now? Can you even go high?" 

"Oh, I can go high enough, thank you for asking." Jongho answered. He didn't like it when his skills were questioned.

"High enough?"

"Is six octaves from the original key high enough?" He bit back, annoyance lacing his tone. Taeil looked like he would laugh soon, but he just waved his hand to shut them both up.

"Jongho is very capable of being the main vocalist. I wouldn't have chosen him if he wasn't. Besides, singing isn't just about high notes, it's so much more. Please don't doubt my little duckies." 

Jongho's annoyance melted as Taeil spoke and he just huffed, a small smile on his face. Jongho was confident about his singing, and he would show that guy what he was made of.

"My students have the play quite well in their hands, most of the lines have been memorized but they definitely need practice. We have a month until the first show, so we need to hurry up." 

Taeil clapped his hands together.  
"Everyone else but Yuna and Jongho can follow me. We'll start right away. You two will have to go through your parts." 

Their parts? 

Jongho glanced at Yuna, who glanced at him. As other students stood up, Jongho walked to her.  
"Our parts? Do we need to act?"

Yuna grimaced.  
"Yeah. Looks like it."

"Crap. That's bad."

Yuna snorted and hit Jongho's bicep, mentioning him to shut up before someone started doubting him again.

"Yuna and Jongho, you two don't have many parts to do. Just some very short ones, and you'll always be singing at the same time, so don't be scared. If you can practice facial expressions, it would be the best."

"Of course." Jongho answered, fiddling with the script. The actors were wandering around the room, going through their lines.

Jongho read the script out loud to Yuna.  
"Main vocalist runs their hand through San's hair while singing, and pats his back, eyes adoring and a bit twisted." He read, a small smirk rising to his lips.

"That's pretty gay." Yuna commeted, to which Jongho scoffed playfully.

"I am gay, so nothing new here."

"How about this? The lead vocalist does a small turn as they harmonize with the main vocalist while the dancing scene is on. We need to dance together, Jongho." She said.

"That's pretty straight."

Yuna smacked him on his bicep again. Jongho had never really bothered to make friends in college, so he was surprised just how easy had it been with Yuna. They had always said a few words to each other during music classes, but never mothing major like this.

"How's my owner doing?" A male's voice asked from behind Jongho, who turned around.

San was smiling sweetly at him.

"Oh right, I own a black cat now." Jongho answered, feeling a bit shy.

"How was saturday?"

Jongho groaned.  
"Don't tell me you remember it."

"Oh, I do, very clearly. All of us do. It was quite unforgottable." San smirked.

"Save me from the humiliation, please." Jongho muttered, cheeks rosy again.

San squeezed Jongho's shoulder.  
"Alright, alright. I'll stop teasing you for today, but don't think you'll never hear of it again."

Great. He had become the punching bag he had always been avoiding.

The students began rehearsing the play while Jongho and Yuna waited for their turns, standing behind the black thick curtain that blocked the view to the stage. Jongho flipped through the script while humming Turbo's Black cat Nero, leaning against the wall. 

He peeked through a small hole on the curtain, and watched how Seonghwa held Jiyeon behind him while pointing at an another boy with a fake gun. His stance was confident, and he didn't shake at all. His eyes looked strict but still soft from how Jiyeon was squeezing his another hand.

Jongho had to give it to him, Seonghwa really knew how to act. And he had only seen a small part of it.

His movements on the stage were big but not overacted. He was in his element, and Jongho knew it from the way Seonghwa's facial expressions could change from the softest smile (which made Jongho's heart race fast) to angrily flashing eyes or straight up tears in a second.

Seonghwa was fully in charge of his body, his face, his emotions, his muscles, and he knew how to use them. His words could be whispered or yelled, maybe even filled with desperacy or straight up pain and agony. 

Jongho had never known Seonghwa was this good. Now he didn't wonder why Seonghwa had been picked as the main male character anymore, it was just clear. He was the best there was, and Jongho knew he would be going far with his skills.

If just seeing Seonghwa daily was enough to make Jongho fall like this, seeing him act a person in love made him fall even harder.

Oh, how much he wished he could be the one Seonghwa protected behind his back, the one he was he ready to kill for, the one he kissed tenderly or hungrily. Jongho wanted those hands around his waist again, and it made his chest ache. It made his heart feel in pain so strongly, that one moment it felt like the pain was actually physical instead of being fully inside his head. It made pain shoot up his body and nerves, radiating around his body, and Jongho pressed a hand over his heart.

He was going crazy, and it was all Seonghwa's fault. If only he wasn't a person who was perfect like that, Jongho could've been just fine. But instead, here he was, being completely, utterly gone for his crush. It was bad.

Jongho's part came up and he walked to to the front of the stage, feeling all eyes on him, so he slouched himself self-consciously. He felt way too shy.

He ran his fingers through San's hair and patted his back while partly singing, partly humming the Black cat Nero, not ready to sing it yet due to not remembering the lyrics completely.

San smiled to him encouragingly when Jongho walked back. He looked up when he pushed himself through the black curtains, only to meet eyes with Seonghwa, who was staring at him with those dark, dark eyes of his.

Jongho stopped, not knowing what to do. His heart was in his throat, whole body frozen. What was he going to do? Ridicule Jongho? Insult him?

Seonghwa lifted his hand up to Jongho's neck, holding it from just under his jawline. He tilted Jongho's head to the side while his eyes stayed on Jongho's neck. Seonghwa licked his lips.

"Yeah, I bet a red ribbon would look great on you." He said, quoting the lyrics from Black cat Nero before letting go of Jongho and disappearing to the stage.

Jongho stood there, breathing faster than usually, cheeks very red and heart beating dangerously fast. He lifted a hand to touch the spots on his neck where Seonghwa had held him from. The skin tingled, and Jongho's head was in the clouds.

That had not just happened.

—

The whole school was on their way outside. Jongho's high school, the WD College were going to play against a rivalling high school. It was a big match, first of the year so everyone was ecstatic to see the team again.

Jongho walked to the bleachers, choosing a seat from the top part's corner so he could just lean against the metallic wall and squeeze himself into a small ball. He was listening to music, like he always was, to kill time and seem less lonely. Which he wasn't. 

Music played loudly from the speakers too, so Jongho paused his own. The commentator kept on babbling about the game and the players who were soon to come to the field, ready to take down the enemy.

Jongho sighed, but not because he was bored. No, he actually really, really liked football. He himself wanted to play it too, maybe in the school's team, but school took enough time even if he didn't play. He had played when he was younger but not anymore.

Someone sat next to him, but Jongho didn't pay any attention to it, because it would just make it more akward. So he clapped when the rivalling team's players ran to the field, looking very big and intimidating. Jongho took it back, he didn't want to play if the players of the other team were as big as those were.

"And now, ladies, gentlemen and non-binary people, our very own Wolves!" The commentator yelled, and lord, the audience bursted into a loud cheering. Even Jongho.

The players ran to the field, dressed in black and white. Jongho let his eyes run over them. He recognized quite many of the players, as they were all seniors, juniors and sophomores. He saw Hongjoong running around. He was the goalkeeper, even if he was shorter than Jongho. But he had magic hands and those hands stopped a lot of balls.

Seonghwa was there of course as well, just like last year. He was a talent no one had known of until play-offs last year when an australian exchange student, Bang Chan, had gotten injured. That's when Seonghwa had been asked to join as him. And he had stayed in the team.

Jongho dreamed of getting Seonghwa's varsity jacket. It was annoying how every single dream of his was about Seonghwa — it really annoyed him — but there was absolutely nothing he could do about it, at least now that he knew how Seonghwa's touch felt. He was still shook from how Seonghwa had held his neck, because it was very surprising.

Jongho blamed — and thanked — himself for being drunk and walking to them in that party. Because without that he would've been the same shadow on the walls. And Seonghwa wouldn't know about him if he hadn't done that.

The game started, and surprisingly Seonghwa was a left-winger today. Jongho enjoyed how he got to see handsome men play football while sweating buckets. It made their skin shine and hair stick to their foreheads, fulfilling Jongho's fantasies. 

Seonghwa was fast, there was no doubt of that. He really knew how to play. He played with the enemies' minds easily with just a few tricks there and there, depriving the ball and running with a confident smirk on his face to the goal before kicking. The crowd yelled and cheered loudly as the most popular boy of the school scored.

Jongho clapped, not wanting to show his excitement too strongly. He was just a stuck-up bitch who fantasied of Seonghwa but didn't want to be seen as one of Seonghwa's fanboys. Because everyone knew what happened to the fanboys and fangirls.

After being a fan for long enough they were finally acknowledged by Seonghwa which led to kissing and having sex, because that was what everyone wanted. And more. But Seonghwa didn't want more. After giving the fans what they desired the most, giving them the cock and the fuck of their life, Seonghwa just ignored them.

He acted like he had never seen them, met them, talked to them or fucked them. It was an one night thing, just like it always was. Unless you were pretty enough to be fucked again.

The fans were from then on called sluts and whores, which wasn't too nice. They had all real feelings for Seonghwa, but the said man didn't care.

That was what scared Jongho the most.

Having a big, big crush on Seonghwa made him a target — that's why he had kept quiet. But now that Seonghwa knew him, acknowledged him, even touched him like that, Jongho was starting to be afraid of ending up just like everyone else.

Because even if he had god damn strong feelings for Seonghwa, he wasn't sure if he was ready to throw himself away like that just for a fuck and few kisses. Just for a moment of living the dream. Jongho didn't know if it was worth it.

Even if he was neck-deep with Seonghwa, what mattered the most was him. Not a quick fuck, not a quick moment of feeling worthy of Seonghwa's attention. Because heck, Jongho didn't know if he was something Seonghwa liked. If he was pretty enough for him. Beautiful enough to be held and shown around or even to be looked at. It sounded bad, it really did, but Jongho didn't help but feel self-conscious. Those thoughts made him want to slap himself on the cheek hard, to get his thoughts straight. He liked how he looked. He really did. 

But he was nothing compared to the boys and girls Seonghwa had, he was nothing compared to the person himself, so he wondered if he was enough. Something wet moistened his eyes.

Jongho stood up, not feeling good anymore. He couldn't even look at Seonghwa, scared that Seonghwa would see him with tears in his eyes. As if he would even see Jongho. His eyes were probably on the prize of the game, Park Jiyeon, who sat there smiling like a fucking lottery winner. Which annoyed Jongho.

Jongho was so smitten that he was starting to think it was dangerous.

With a bitter taste in his mouth, Jongho left the field.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi and happy saturday, once again!❤️
> 
> This chapter is slightly a filler one, but still crucially important for the plot👀 we introduced Taeil and Gongmyoung, and the project that will have the plot going smoothly.🥰
> 
> Also, if someone has noticed from what I have tweeted, I’m doing oneshots of Ateez members x Jongho! I already have the jonghwa that comes after this ready, so I have some time to just write something else as well. You can request aus and pairings by sending a message to my cc or twitter🥰 (both below)
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed! We’ll see next saturday for the... FOURTH???? FOURTH CHAPTER?? Lord, time has gone so fast😳 anyways! Good bye, hehehe❤️❤️
> 
> [my twitter](https://twitter.com/cloudyjjongie?s=21) and [my curiouscat](https://curiouscat.qa/Cloudyjongho)


	4. Pretty boy

Jongho hummed and blew raspberries with his lips, warming up his vocal chords. He was a bit nervous.

A week had gone by so quickly after the first session with the theatre students, and now they were full on practicing, with exact instruments and songs. Everything had been learned very quickly, and Jongho truly felt his chest puff every time the theatre majors complimented their music majors. He couldn't help but smile when everyone from the orchestra got praises, not just the singers, because they were just as important. Besides, Jongho didn't like compliments. They made him blush and shy away.

Yuna snapped her fingers to get into the rhytm of one of her songs. She sang the songs that were used when Park Jiyeon was the main person in the act, and Jongho sang his when Park Seonghwa was the main. It worked well, and Jongho and Yuna had learned to harmonize well. Their voices really complimented each other.

"The mirror scene with San!" Gongmyoung announced to the mic, and the orchestra began playing.

Their version of Black cat Nero was jazzy, but at the same time very classic with key changes. It made the song creepy and hollow, it created a great eerie atmosphere.

Jongho walked around the stage, squeezing the mic in his hand. He was supposed to be a normal citizen who fell in love with the cat, who was obviously San. Well, Jongho liked cats, so it was no problem. Besides, San was very nice to him. So he had no complaints.

The song began and for a moment Jongho just appreciated the beautiful piano. He closed his eyes as he stepped to stand beside San, before opening them again and setting his eyes on the said cat.

He brought the mic to his lips and sang, his hand resting on San's shoulder. San ran a hand through his hair while Jongho's fingers tapped a consistent rhythm on his shoulder, singing with a mystic, confident tone.

San put lipstick on his lips, not properly, but missing the corner of his mouth and dragging the blood-red color to his cheek, just like he needed to. Jongho's fingers drummed his shoulder calmly before San stood up and Jongho let his hand fall off. The song, that was now just Jongho's voice and some piano chords, would start properly soon.

San walked to the centrum of the stage, and Jongho stood still for a while before walking to San. He let a smirk take over his features as he sang the last syllable before running his hand from San's head down his back. That's when the smokemachine spat smoke on the stage, and Jongho ran off to the side, ready to continue the song as the scene continued.

The play went well, and when the last scene finally ended, Jongho exhaled shakily. He didn't know how the actors didn't seem to stress about this. Everything was so planned, everyone had their exact places and exits from the stage, and they had to be 100% correct every scene. No mistaked were accepted from others than Jongho and Yuna. Well, they too were the receiving ends of very mean glares if they failed.

So far Jongho had done quite well. He had practiced the song and went through some of the harder parts with Taeil.

"Hey! You're Jongho, right?" Someone asked from behind Jongho. He turned around with a flinch.

Lee Junyoung.

"Y-yeah, that's me!" Jongho squeaked, surprised if not even scared. 

Just why did the second most popular guy in the school want to talk to him? He was Seonghwa's biggest rival. Except, Junyoung had never acted like a fuckboy. And Seonghwa and Junyoung didn't really hate each other that much. Junyoung was just the second one in line.

"You killed that performance! I was stunned all the time, so stunned that I almost forgot to act my own part. Which would've been bad. How come I had never heard of you before this?" Junyoung asked, all teeth and smile.

Jongho felt sheepish and blushed again while literally looking up at Junyoung — he was tall.

"Ah, thank you. I guess I'm good at keeping it down." He answered, rubbing his neck awkwardly. Junyoung just laughed warmly.

"No need to be shy or humble. Seriously, I know a talent when I hear one. I'm Lee Junyoung." He extended a hand for Jongho to shake.

"I know." Jongho blurted out before wincing and his own words. God, he was an idiot.

"Doesn't change the fact that I am Lee Junyoung," Junyoung continued, a wide smile stretching his face.

Jongho grabbed the hand — he would never leave someone like Junyoung hanging — and just nodded.

"How come you don't have a big role? If I remember correctly you act three different bystanders," Jongho asked, wanting to have something else to talk about than his singing.

"I was a candidate for the male main character, but we figured Seonghwa was a better fit. The bystander roles were the only ones left, so instead of making a fuzz and putting everyone through the difficulty of changing roles, I accepted them." Junyoung answered, shrugging.

"That's very nice of you." Jongho answered, voice a bit quiet.

"It was just the easier way." Junyoung played it off.

"Doesn't change the fact that it was nice of you," Jongho suddenly teased Junyoung, quoting him from earlier, which made the senior's eyes light up with amusement.

"I can't believe I have missed a person like you. Are you a junior?"

"Sophomore." Jongho answered, feeling a bit shy again. He didn't want Junyoung to stop talking to him just because he was youmger.

"Suits your young face. We seniors are just old and grumpy." Junyoung grinned, which made Jongho laugh. His mother had been right, giving air to his gummies felt good.

"Speak about youself, Junyoung." A third voice joined the conversation. And Jongho knew that voice better than anything else.

It sent shivers down his spane, it kicked some speed to his heart and made him blush more.

Seonghwa stopped beside the two of them, a smirk playing on his lips.

"I leave you unsupervised for three seconds and the next thing I know you're harrassing sophomores. Be nice Junyoung, the pretty boy is not something you can poke fun at." 

Jongho's heart jumped to his throat.

The pretty boy. 

Seonghwa had just called him pretty. Seonghwa thought he was pretty. 

"Oh fuck off, Seonghwa. I'm not harrassing him, and definitely not poking fun at him. Right, Jongho?" Junyoung asked, grinning.

The both males turned to look at Jongho which made him a tad bit more than fucking uncomfortable. He wanted to squirm under the two heavy gazes — one a kind, gentle and warm one, the second one purely flirty and dark. 

"Was this idiot harrassing you, pretty boy?" Seonghwa asked.

As much as Jongho loved the compliment, did Seonghwa really not remember his name? Had he forgotten it or had he just not bothered enough to even hear it at the party? Or had he been too drunk?

"N-no, he was just, talking with me." Jongho muttered, feeling pressured. And a bit sad.

"Aww man, you made him sad. Where did the lively twinkle in your eyes go? I'm taking you away from Seonghwa, he's taming you." Junyoung gasped, pulling Jongho against him and looking down at him with amused eyes, clearly thinking Jongho's sadness was a part of the joke.

Seonghwa's brows furrowed, and he stared at Jongho with something Jongho had never seen in his eyes — he looked concerned? Almost? But at the same time his eyes were hard, especially when he glanced at Junyoung.

Seonghwa's hand twitched, as if wanting to reach up, but it ended up being squeezed into a tight fist that rested against his body. Junyoung still didn't notice the change in the situation.

"It was Jongho, wasn't it?" Seonghwa spoke, some hesitation in his voice, but oh my god, Jongho's brains took off and yeeted themselves to heaven.

Seonghwa remembered his name. 

"Yeah." Jongho sighed, voice so airy that it almost sounded like a moan, which made him so embarrassed that Jongho pushed Junyoung off to turn around and press his hands on his face.

Seonghwa's bright laugh started echoing in the room, loud claps accompanying him. Even Junyoung was dying, but Jongho was absolutely on fire. 

He jumped off the stage and ran to the audience, hiding himself behind a chair as his cheeks burned very, very strongly.

He was a fuckup, he was such a fuckup.

"Don't hide, pretty boy, I want to hear more of those!" Seonghwa yelled, and fucking hell Jongho wanted to die.

"Fuck you!" He yelled back, somehow getting so much bravery from his embarrassement that he was able to yell those words at his crush.

He heard a thump and looked up, seeing Seonghwa, who had just jumped off the stage, running towards him. 

That's when Jongho bolted.

He began running away, letting out a very manly, high-pitched scream before pushing himself through the double-doors and to the hallway. Seonghwa followed him, his footsteps echoing in the hallway, and Jongho actually enjoyed it.

It made him feel like he was special for a moment — like he was worth Seonghwa's time. Seonghwa chased him like he sometimes chased his girls when they were done acting sassy just to get a 'punishment' from Seonghwa. It was the exact same moment, except for the fact that half of Jongho didn't really want to be caught.

But of course he was done for, because before he even noticed it, a hand grabbed his wrist and he was pushed against a wall by who else but the wet dream of Jongho's.

Seonghwa's hair had fallen on his forehead, and his dark eyes stared at Jongho like a predator stared at its prey.

"Where do you think you are going?" He asked, a teasing lilt in his voice as Jongho just stared back at him with eyes as wide as they could ever be. His cheeks burned again, and somehow his heart couldn't calm down even if he wasn't running anymore.

"N-nowhere." He blurted, feeling like a trapped animal.

Seonghwa chuckled and craned his neck so he stared at the ceiling for a while before turning back to look at Jongho, a smirk playing on his lips,

"Oh yeah?"

Jongho nodded franctically, making Seonghwa chuckle again.

"Alright. Listen, Jongho, come to my party on friday. It's a closed one so don't invite anyone else, but just come." Seonghwa said, his eyes tracing Jongho's facial features.

"O-okay." Jongho whispered.

Seonghwa leaned closer, his breath tickling Jongho's ear.  
"I promise it'll be worth it." He whispered, right hand tracing down Jongho's side before he pulled himself off and started walking back towards the stage.

Jongho's heart was beating so fast that he wasn't sure if it was normal anymore. He stared at Seonghwa's distancing back, mouth slightly open and small puffs escaping his lungs.

He was special. He had gotten an invite to Seonghwa's party.

Even if a part of him knew letting himself open up to Seonghwa like this, letting him play with Jongho like a kid played with their toys, was dumb. It was so, so dumb, but what could Jongho do about it? He had had a crush on Seonghwa for more than a year. Who was he to say no? Why would he say no, if he finally might have the chance to get closer to his crush as a friend or even more?

It wouldn't make any sense. It wouldn't. Yes, a week ago Jongho had decided he himself was more important than being nicknamed a whore and letting his heart be broken, but right now, Jongho didn't want to back down. There was something between him and Seonghwa, there just was. Something strong, like electricity. 

Like the cliché in every single bad boy x good boy or girl stories, Jongho wished he was the one that could change the bad boy and make him fall in love with him. He wanted to be that person.

And right now it felt like it was possible.

—

Jongho tuned out Mrs Ahn's speaking. There was still five minutes left of the lesson and he was bored out of his mind. She didn't even teach them anymore, she just babbled about things they had learned ages ago, and as much as Jongho loved her, his mind was somewhere else. Which was his bed.

He was so tired. School stole hours of his sleep every night, making Jongho study study and study. Revise, read, write. Every night his sleep just got shorter and shorter, which made Jongho more tired. 

He was sure his eyebags were pitch black and hung somewhere near the floor. 

Jongho's head pounded — it was the reward of staying up and staring at his computer. His shoulders hurt so much that turning his head to the side felt like someone was trying to twist his neck. Well, it was his fault. And his teacher's fault. Especially the one's whose rant Jongho absolutely refused to listen to right now. But it wasn't just Mrs Ahn, physics just required a lot of time and practice. 

It was currently thursday. They had the final rehearsal of the play on saturday, the first show being on sunday. Weeks had gone by so fast.

Ever since Junyoung had come to talk to Jongho on that day, he had started greeting Jongho on the hallways. Like they were the best friends or something. Jongho didn't mind it, because Junyoung was very nice. It was no wonder he was popular. The guy had it all: a nice, warm personality, gentle eyes, almost ten centimeters more of height than Jongho, handsome face and a nice, a bit soft way of dressing. 

He was like Seonghwa, but the exact opposite. Whereas Junyoung was soft, Seonghwa was full of sharp edges. He had dark eyes, full lips that were always pulled to a smirk, and a few, maybe two to three centimeters to Jongho. He was handsome as well, but the way he dressed, with leather jackets, skin-tight black jeans with thigh chains or different black pants like slacks or cargo- and leather pants. He styled the school uniform's white button-up so easily with chains and other accessories. Usually they would always need to use the blue slacks that came with the school uniform, but the teachers had given up on reminding and punishing Seonghwa for wearing his own pants, so they just let him wear them.

Junyoung sometimes wore the uniform's blazer as well, which completed the whole uniform. All they were required to wear were the slacks, shirt and the tie, but Junyoung was one of the class presidents, so he gave a good example to everyone.

Jongho wore the clothes they were required to, but paired the button-up with a sweater vest or a denim jacket every now and then. He also wore round, black glasses when he needed to see very well. Jongho dressed like the child of Junyoung and Seonghwa. It was kind of funny.

Jongho's ideal type was the serious problem here.

He could've gotten a crush on Junyoung — and gotten a boyfriend that hadn't fucked every other girl and boy in the school. He could've had a stable, nice relationship, which could've started last year.

But no, Jongho had a crush on Seonghwa.

The mystic, dangerous and dark aura that surrounded Seonghwa excited him. He loved how Seonghwa dressed, how he smirked, how he knew what he wanted and knew how to get it. He was straight-forward and strong, and definitely did not back down. Jongho was sure he could be possessive. He just knew it, and it made Jongho blush more than he should've done.

He loved the fuckboy, he loved the person that broke hearts every other day. He loved the only person in his school that could hurt with just a few actions and words. Jongho's heart really said fuck mental health.

"So like I said, the unfound quark — graviton — is yet to be found. The scientists everywhere around the world are looking for it. I hope that some of my students, one of you, finds it. The class is dismissed."

Jongho jumped up faster than anyone. He threw the book inside his bag quickly, wanting to get out. His head ached so hard that he couldn't even listen to music. 

He walked out of the class with rushed, quick steps. Now he could finally go home. Go home only to study again. It was the continuous, unstoppable hamster wheel.

Some loud seniors were coming towards him with lazy steps, the seven of them walking in a row, taking almost the whole hallway. Jongho strode to walk right beside the lockers so he could squeeze past the seniors and just get home.

But no, life had its way playing Jongho.

The senior nearest to Jongho thought it would be fun to push him a little — which resulted in Jongho being thrown against the lockers. The handle of whatever locker was behind him dug painfully to Jongho's back, making him gasp in pain. It felt like it had gone past his skin, but of course it was just a minor bruise. 

But with Jongho's sleep-deprived brains, aching head, growling stomach, hurting shoulders and the amount of stress piled on the same shoulder that hurt, he exploded.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" He almost yelled at the guy who was busy laughing.

"What the fuck was that?" The guy asked, face morphing into anger.

Jongho scoffed.  
"Don't act innocent. Had a bad day and decided to take it out on me? Fuck you!"

The whole group of friends were now glaring at Jongho. And Jongho regretted it all. 

"What did you say, freshman?" The guy snarled, stepping closer, to which Jongho answered with pushing himself off the locker.

"I'm not a fucking freshman." Jongho spat.

"I don't fucking care what you are, bitch. Don't talk to me like that." 

Jongho rolled his eyes, and pushed the rude guy back. He was so fucking mad. But doing that was a mistake, for sure, because the next thing he knew was that he was pushed back so powerfully, that Jongho crashed to the floor.

The seniors walked closer, the angriest one squatting in front of Jongho. He glared up at them and stood up, ready to show the guy what he and his fists were made of, when he was pushed and thrown to the floor again, this time almost rolling over with a backwards somersault. 

"Fuck off!" Jongho yelled, his head aching even more now that he and the guy were talking loudly.

"Say that again, I dare you." The guy snarled again, grabbing Jongho by his collar.

"I said, fuck you." Jongho spat through his teeth.

The guy growled and lifted his fist up to give Jongho a punch, but they were disturbed.

"Hey! Let go of him!" Jongho heard Hongjoong yell.

Oh no. This would make Jongho a target.

The guy let Jongho go and straightened up, glancing at Hongjoong, who was probably somewhere behind Jongho.

"Make sure to not to annoy me again, little bitch." He said, turning around with his friends, and walking away like the biggest fucking cliché ever.

Jongho scoffed and gave the guy's back his middle finger before getting up and dusting off his clothes.

Hongjoong grabbed his hand and let his eyes trail Jongho up and down.  
"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, no worries. It was my own fault." Jongho answered, sighing.

"Be careful around seniors if they're not us, Jongho. You're not a freshman but you're still a sophomore, which gives you a target on your head." Hongjoong said, voice so gentle and warm that Jongho stopped everything he was doing or thinking about and looked Hongjoong to his eyes.

Hongjoong smiled at him, lips stretched into a pretty smile and eyes twinkling. Jongho felt himself melting. The senior looked so, so kind, so sweet and so nice, that Jongho almost teared up. Hongjoong stared at Jongho like he was the most important human in the world.

"Are you sure you're okay? You look a little... confused? Stunned? Flushed?" Hongjoong asked, pressing his hand against Jongho's forehead, who just blushed more.

"I am, I am. You're just so..." he tried to explain, waving his hand around.

"I'm just so what?" Hongjoong's face was twisted into a sly smile now.

"You're just so nice. And pretty." Jongho mumbled. He wasn't used to this kind of attention.

Hongjoong pulled Jongho into a tight hug, Jongho's cheeks squeezing against him.

"You're adorable. Do you want to walk home with me?" Hongjoong asked, smiling at Jongho as he let him go.

"I would really like to. I would love to." Jongho breathed out.

Hongjoong grabbed Jongho's hand and started walking.

"You're so sweet, Jongho, I really regret not knowing you until the party. Too bad I'm already a senior." Hongjoong said while walking.

"Me too. I'm glad I decided to walk past you and your group when I was drunk,"

Hongjoong laughed, patting Jongho's bicep with his other hand.

"Well, I'll pry your number out of you before you even notice it. That way you won't get rid of me even after I graduate." 

Jongho smiled and glanced at Hongjoong.  
"You don't have to pry it, I can just give it to you. What are your majors?"

"Music producing and literature."

"Music producing? How come I have never seen you?" Jongho asked.

"I do private projects by myself, because I have a contract with KQ. But I did participate in making the version of Black cat Nero you and your honey vocals sing."

Jongho stopped to look at Hongjoong.  
"With KQ?"

"Yeah, but you didn't hear from me." 

Hongjoong was smiling again, and pulled Jongho a bit.

"Let's not talk about me anymore. You are coming to tomorrow's party, aren't you? Seonghwa mentioned something like asking you." After that Hongjoong continued babbling, but Jongho couldn't really listen.

Seonghwa had talked about wanting to ask Jongho?

"So what did you do to annoy Scoobydoo back there?" Hongjoong asked, breaking Jongho out of his thoughts. 

"He pushed me, I snapped at him and pushed him. You know the rest."

They fell into a conversation that felt comfortable and smooth, and for the first time, Jongho enjoyed the walk home without music.

If this was what having proper friends felt like, Jongho was happy he had met Hongjoong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hellooooooo hehehehee and happy saturday!
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!! Things are starting to build up a lil... I wonder what happens next👀 
> 
> I hope you liked this chapter, and we see next week!❤️
> 
> [my twitter](https://twitter.com/cloudyjjongie?s=21) and [my curiouscat](https://curiouscat.qa/Cloudyjongho)

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Thank you for reading!
> 
> We have now started the 9th jonghwa of mine! This chapter was around 1k shorter than my chapters usually are, well, except for the finale which is this time around 13k words! 
> 
> I kept on teasing people on twitter all the wat until yesterday, and here we are again, four weeks after I’d catch a grenade for you ended, with a new one😂😂😂
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! I hope the boring first chapter didn’t make you run away, because we are truly in for a wild ride, that I can tell.
> 
> I update this fic every saturday❤️
> 
> Thank you for reading!
> 
> [my twitter](https://twitter.com/cloudyjjongie?s=21) and [my curiouscat](https://curiouscat.qa/Cloudyjongho)


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